Digital assets are everywhere these days, and so businesses need entire platforms to manage them efficiently and make them accessible as needed, and to extract value from the data that their use generates.
The process of digital asset management is well established by this point, with dedicated platforms (DAMs) built to handle it.
If you’ve not encountered this phenomenon before, it can sound quite alien. To clear things up, here’s an overview of the basic principles, and the benefits that it offers organizations of all sizes.
Introducing & explaining digital asset management
The main purpose of having a DAM on tap is to enable the centralized storage and organization of various media files, including the likes of digital images, video footage and audio clips.
These systems tend to be primarily harnessed internally, giving employees access to the assets they need to fulfill their responsibilities from day to day, while also creating a vault in which newly created assets can be housed.
Unpicking the advantages of digital asset management
There are several selling points of using a DAM as opposed to a content management system (CMS), such as:
Improved efficiency & productivity
With the help of the likes of a DAM by Brandfolder, creative teams can function more efficiently and productively from moment to moment, because all of the assets they require are kept in one place.
So instead of files being siloed elsewhere, they’re all available centrally, making them eminently searchable.
Boosting security
Another of the major perks of using a DAM is that it means you can more easily track and control user access to mission-critical, often sensitive data.
This limits the likelihood of breaches occurring, and also means that if malicious activity does take place, its source can be pinpointed.
Reducing data loss
Taking an unstructured, undisciplined, undefined approach to creating and storing digital assets inevitably leads to files going walkabouts, and effectively becoming irretrievable.
A DAM is a means of codifying how each asset should be organized, and the simple act of keeping everything in one place radically reduces the chances of data loss, whether through human error or hardware failure.
Leveraging metadata
Every digital file has metadata attached to it which describes certain things about it, such as the date on which it was created. With things like digital photographs and even videos, this metadata can go even deeper, including GPS info, camera settings and more.
Storing content in a DAM lets you tap into the metadata associated with every file, and also add your own tags so that content is eminently searchable.
Catalyzing everyday tasks
Another of the efficiency improving aspects of a modern DAM comes in the form of integrated editing capabilities.
So instead of having to access a file and send it to another piece of software before altering it for publishing, you can carry out tweaks within the DAM itself.
Preserving your brand identity
A fragmented approach to generating digital assets can lead to a lack of consistency in terms of how your brand is represented.
Adopting a DAM means that every piece of content can be reviewed and approved, with complete oversight of what’s made available for use in different contexts, such as on social media.
Scaling as you grow
Lastly, thanks to cutting edge DAM solutions, you don’t have to be hemmed in by the limits of your in-house infrastructure. The scalability of cloud-powered digital asset management ensures that small businesses and large corporations alike can enjoy the same features and benefits, no matter what projects they are working on.
